Rocker Switch - DPDT Product Help and Resources

A tutorial on electronics' most overlooked and underappreciated component: the switch! Here we explain the difference between momentary and maintained switches and what all those acronyms (NO, NC, SPDT, SPST, ...) stand for.

Core Skill: Electrical Prototyping

If it requires power, you need to know how much, what all the pins do, and how to hook it up. You may need to reference datasheets, schematics, and know the ins and outs of electronics.

3Electrical Prototyping

Skill Level: Competent - You will be required to reference a datasheet or schematic to know how to use a component. Your knowledge of a datasheet will only require basic features like power requirements, pinouts, or communications type. Also, you may need a power supply that?s greater than 12V or more than 1A worth of current.
See all skill levels

Customer Reviews

4 out of 5

Solid power switch

This is a pretty solid switch all around. It stays in place really well, and the bevel around the front hides a bit of error on the filing I did to make a rectangular hole.

The only problem is that it has to be wired backwards from what you’d assume. The center post is tied to one side or the other depending on the position of the switch, yes, but the post beneath the on symbol is actually open when the switch is “On”. So to make a complete circuit when the switch is on, you have to solder to the center post, and the one beneath the off side.

In 2003, CU student Nate Seidle fried a power supply in his dorm room and, in lieu of a way to order easy replacements, decided to start his own company. Since then, SparkFun has been committed to sustainably helping our world achieve electronics literacy from our headquarters in Boulder, Colorado.

No matter your vision, SparkFun's products and resources are designed to make the world of electronics more accessible. In addition to over 2,000 open source components and widgets, SparkFun offers curriculum, training and online tutorials designed to help demystify the wonderful world of embedded electronics. We're here to help you start something.